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Management Team

In October 2001, Ned co-founded xTuple, originally called OpenMFG, with the aim of bringing the worlds of open source and enterprise resource planning (ERP) together to solve the unmet needs of small- to mid-sized manufacturers. In 1999, he was a co-founder of Great Bridge, an early business built around the PostgreSQL open source database. PostgreSQL is the core technology for xTuple today. Great Bridge was incubated inside Landmark Communications, a mid-sized media company where Ned directed corporate venture investments, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and startup activity. Prior to Landmark, Ned worked for a regional technology group in Washington D.C. and had a brief first career in political media — television, radio and a non-partisan news wire. He holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from George Washington University.

Missy Schmidt

Vice President Marketing

Since early 2012, Missy has directed marketing for xTuple open source ERP, including the global user conference, inbound and outbound content marketing, lead generation, sales campaigns, website design and digital strategies. She has ties to the business and economic development, startup and entrepreneurial communities in Virginia and nationally. Prior to joining xTuple, Missy was VP of strategic communication and marketing for Hampton Roads Partnership, a public-private corporation that worked to improve the region's economy within the international marketplace. Before that, Missy spent 25+ in sales, including product development, within the industries of telecommunications, retail, industrial food service, contract packaging and manufacturing. Missy holds a B.S. from James Madison University. She and her husband reside in the "innovation corridor" of downtown Norfolk.

Wally Tonra

Vice President Sales

Wally has been with xTuple since 2004 and in ERP sales since the mid-1990s. After all that time selling vendor-centric, proprietary enterprise software, moving to an open source, Mac-friendly ERP package was a natural evolution. Prior to xTuple, Wally spent 10 years at JD Edwards, which was eventually acquired by Peoplesoft, in various sales and sales management positions. He made the move to xTuple before Oracle took over both Peoplesoft and the former JDE. Prior to JD Edwards, Wally held sales positions at ERP software company Daly.commerce (formerly Daly and Wolcott), hardware supplier XL/Datacomp and storage vendor EMC. Wally holds a B.S. from Boston College, where the Mac fanaticism all began.

Pierce is a founding member of xTuple and, since 2001, has been responsible for the day-to-day technical support of xTuple’s global community of customers and implementation partners. In addition to his suport role, Pierce also manages the services group, whose scope includes implementations and ongoing professional services. He was previously a manager for knowledge management at Great Bridge, a commercial open source company serving the PostgreSQL community. For many years he taught digital literacy and college English at Old Dominion University and the University of Maryland.

Mike Atherton

Director Product Evangelism

Mike has delivered project management, implementation, technical and training services to xTuple clients since the earliest days of the company. These clients span a wide range of industries around the world. Prior to xTuple, Mike was a Senior ERP Consultant for Computer Associates International, an expert on multiple CA products, notably the Baan Triton/MK product acquired first by SSA, then Infor. He served as adjunct faculty for The George Washington University and Marymount University where he taught courses on Operations Management and Global Operations Strategy, and currently guest lectures on project management and systems-thinking in The Graduate School USA's Center for Leadership and Management. He holds a B.B.A. from the College of William and Mary and a M.B.A. from The George Washington University. An author of numerous articles, Mike has written on a variety of topics including "Becoming a Closed-Loop Organization," which appeared in Darwin magazine and CIO.com, and "Strategy Implementation: Closing The Management Gap," which appeared in Industrial Management magazine. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Solve ME/CFS Initiative, the leading charitable organization dedicated to curing myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

Promoted to Director of Operations in 2018, Perry served for many years as xTuple's senior database engineer, including administration of global, onsite, and internal systems. He specializes in the design, implement and maintenance of database backup infrastructure and methodologies, including backup test and validation, as well as troubleshooting and tuning database performance. Perry is knowledgeable in most aspects of computer networking, security, operating systems, SQL databases and applications and has imagined and implemented methods for metrics reporting relating to all deployed databases. Manufacturing Specialties: Practical knowledge of various manufacturing processes: including CNC, CAD/CAM, metal forming/shaping, machining, welding, deburring, shaping, polishing, and various plastics processing techniques.

Danielle Kerner

Director Partner Channel Development

With xTuple since 2009, Danielle has managed the growth and development of xTuple's Partner channel expanding the overall reach into more than a dozen countries across six continents. Danielle is responsible for the cultivation of Partner relationships and the development of new markets around the world. Danielle provides sales and technical support to the growing global community of xTuple Partners. She works directly with the xTuple Marketing Department to secure best-in-class services for xTuple Partners. Prior to xTuple, Danielle held several leadership positions at Dominion Enterprises where she directed the development of their Web-based businesses. She holds a B.A. in Historic Studies from Virginia Wesleyan College and worked as an archeologist for the James River Institute for Archaeology.

Gil joined xTuple in 2005 to develop the first version of multi-currency support in our products. He helped xTuple transition from its original closed source OpenMFG product to the commercial open source company we are today. Before coming to xTuple, Gil worked for several large and small software companies in a variety of roles, including Informix Software, where he managed the database backup/restore utility group. He always advocates for, and delivers, high-quality products through improvements to the software development process. Ask about his other jobs next time you see him — ! He has a B.A. in Biology from Reed College and an M.S. in Computer Science from Old Dominion University.

Rick Murchake

Director Special Projects

Rick joined xTuple in April of 2013 after many years of innovation at Dominion Enterprises, an international marketing services company connecting buyers and sellers in numerous industries, including real estate, apartments, specialty vehicles, employment, automotive and travel. There he focused on new initiatives to help customers better leverage marketing and operating efficiencies through the effective use of Internet technology. He currently manages the groups within xTuple focusing on wholesale distribution and Web-based commerce. He has a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park.